Monday, November 15, 2010

I started being interested in fitness in the early eighties and for most of the years since then I believed everyone should workout an hour a day. Then ten years ago I did a few 12 week sessions of Body For Life and learned that four hours a week could be at least as effective. Last spring my friend Brett sat in my office and told me that you can lose weight and get fit in 30 minutes a day three times a week with the right program. I was skeptical. For the last eight months I have done the research, taught the program and seen the effects in the participants and in my own fitness level, and I am a believer! What is the program? At Fitmania we call it a Boot Camp even though it may look different than some other boot camp programs. This protocol for fitness is definitely the best model for fitness for the next decade.

How It Works:
We have learned over the last dozen years that 20 minutes of interval training is much better then an hour of steady cardio for weight loss, metabolic rate and even for cardiovascular fitness. That was why the Body For Life program was able to reduce the time demands. You still had three hours a week for weights but the cardio was reduced to three, intense 20 minute interval workouts.

So what about those three hours of weights every week? Well, instead of using the same few muscles to get your heart rate up you get off the treadmill and use large multi-joint, multi-muscle movements. You use (mostly) your own body weight and move in ways your body was intended to move. In order to get the interval effect you move in timed segments as hard as you can instead of your usual sets and reps. I am finding this at least as effective as traditional weight lifting in building muscle for strength and toning. When I started doing this kind of a workout I was pretty fit but I have never been more fit than I am right now.

Advantages:
1. Time. A maximum of 30 of work with a warm up and cool down takes 45 minutes 3 x week. That is 2 hours and 15 minutes a week! I still think getting out and doing physical activity everyday is good for body and soul, but go do things you enjoy as part of a healthy life style rather than spending all that time in the gym.
2. Metabolism. Builds a faster metabolism far better than traditional programs.

3. Less injury. Because we use natural movement, synergistic muscle groups and little weight there is very little risk of injury.

4. Cheaper. It's better than personal training for about $8 a class and you don't need a gym membership. (If you still want one you can use the Fitmania gym if you are enrolled in Boot Camp for free.)

"All of the body's systems - digestive, circulatory, immune, and so on - are interrelated. The common thread that binds them together is movement. The faster the molecules of the body move the, higher the metabolic rate. The higher the metabolic rate, the healthier the human being. We are designed to run, jump, climb fall roll, and skip . . . If these activities hurt or cause pain, it is because we are violating some or all the laws of health." Pete Egoscue

Join us for One Big Boot Camp on Black Friday at 9am. Totally free for absolutely everyone!

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When I was a teenager I had a horseback riding accident and damaged my wrist so severally that later it had to be rebroken and surgically repaired. I didn't want to have the surgery but afterward I felt stronger. I had grown and felt I could do anything. A few years later I had the same experience with a car accident. In both cases I would not have chosen the experience but because I had such personal growth through the experience I was grateful for it.
Happiness is a funny thing. It is the object of our existence but we spend so much time NOT doing the things that make us happy. I am not an expert on happiness but I have had a lot of it and I think I know a little about it. I know that happiness only comes when we are growing and improving. I love fitness because it is such an obvious type, the ever ready metaphor, for all kinds of personal growth.
"Either life is a daring, joyful adventure or life is nothing." Helen Keller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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